Tournament rules and new player F.A.Q.

Here are some basic rules you'll need to know before your first tournament. You're probably familiar with some of them already.

No eliminations! Elimination-style tournaments are very rare in chess. So if you lose your first game, don't leave! You'll still be paired in subsequent rounds.

Touch Move: If you touch one of your pieces as if to move it, you have to (if you legally can).

Touch Take: If you touch one of your opponent's pieces as if to take it, you have to (if you legally can).

Use the same hand to move the pieces and touch the clock. Never make a move with one hand then press the clock with the other.

Use only one hand to castle—and be sure you touch the king first, not the rook.

Don't pause your clock to go use the restroom. Always pause your clock if you get up to ask the TD a question.

(And on that note: if you have a question during your game, or if you and your opponent disagree on a rule, pause the clock and find the TD. This is what we're here for, so don't wait until your game is over to ask your question.)

Mark your score immediately after your game is finished. Don't assume your opponent is doing this for both of you. Even if your opponent marks both scores, check to make sure this was done correctly.

Pay attention to your score throughout the day. If you won rounds one and two, but the score next to your name in the round 3 pairings is a 1.0, tell the TD right away.

No talking during your game except for necessary communication with your opponent or a tournament director. Communicating with spectators or players at other boards is forbidden.

No phones in the playing hall (or tablets, smart watches, etc.). This is a big deal. Turn it off (off, not silenced) and put it on the floor under your chair or in a purse or bag, if you have one—never in your pocket. Players observed going to or from the restroom with a phone in their pocket risk losing their game. Players observed using their phone while their game is in progress will be penalized with loss of their game. A player whose device makes a sound in the playing hall during a round could be penalized, even if their own game has finished.

How to offer a draw:

Move.
Ask the opponent if they want a draw.
Press the clock.

The draw offer is valid until the opponent either accepts it, rejects it, or makes a move (another way of rejecting a draw offer), or until either player's time runs out.

Adjusting your pieces: If one of your pieces isn't centered on its square and you want to adjust it, you must announce your intention to do this. You can just say "adjust." If you touch your piece without saying "adjust" first, the touch-move rule applies.

Never adjust your pieces when your opponent's clock is running. Only do this when it's your turn.

If you need to leave early or skip a round, always tell the tournament director! This is very important, since otherwise you'll be paired in the next round, and somebody will have to sit and wait for an opponent who's not coming.

Every player should do this

US Chess has made available for free download the sections of the rule book that players will find most useful. Read it here:

US Chess Rules for Players

Last, if anything comes up during your game—a dispute about a rule or anything you're uncertain about—pause your clock and go find the TD. Don't wait until after the game to ask your question.

Q: Do I have to write down my moves?

Unless it's a blitz or quick-rated tournament, yes. US Chess rules require players to write down their moves for all regular-rated games. (These are games in which the base time plus increment or delay adds up to at least 30 minutes.) If you've never done this before, don't worry about it. Just do your best. If you're not familiar with how this is done, here's a great primer from the Los Angeles Math Circle: How to write chess notation

Q: Do I really need a US Chess membership?

Yes. In US Chess-rated events, a membership is required for every player. Whether you're an adult or a scholastic player, your membership will allow you to participate in rated tournaments all over the country.

Q: Do I need to bring my own set & clock?

We provide sets & clocks for all Oklahoma City Chess Club tournaments. Players are still encouraged to bring their own so they can play in the café before the tournament or between rounds.

But at other events, you might be required to bring your own equipment. Always read the tournament information carefully so you'll know what to do.

Q: What if I need to miss a round?

No problem—just ask (in advance) for a bye.

If you need to skip a round, just let the tournament director know in advance and we'll assign you a half point (equal to a draw) for the missed round. Depending upon the number of rounds in the event, there might be more than one half-point bye available. Be sure to check the tournament's bye policy so you'll know when the deadline is—at most of our tournaments, you can't request a bye after round two.

Forced byes

When there's an odd number of players in a section, somebody has to sit out each round. We give the forced bye to the lowest-rated player (not an unrated player) in the lowest score group for that round. The player is awarded a full point (equal to a win) for that round. No player can be given two forced byes in the same event.

That's the basic information we want you to know before your first tournament. If you'd like to learn more about tournament formats and tiebreak methods, read on.

How to read tournament formats & time controls

#-SS: Number of rounds, Swiss system. This is a common system used for pairing tournaments. Learn more about it here.

So 5-SS means five rounds, Swiss system.

RR: round robin. In this format, you'll have a game with very other player in the tournament (or in your section). Quads tournaments, in which players are divided into four-player round robin sections, are a popular alternative to Swiss events.

Double Swiss/double round robin = each round comprises two games (one as Black, one as White) against the same opponent. This is a commonly used format in blitz tournaments.

In time controls, the "G" stands for "Game," and the number that follows is the base time per player (expressed in minutes). Example: A G/90 game is one in which each player has 90 minutes to make all their moves.

+#: When the base time is followed by a plus sign, this means an increment has been added. Every time you press the clock, the indicated number of seconds will be added to your base time.

d#: When the base time is followed by the letter d, this means a delay has been added. When a player presses the clock, it won't start up right away for the other player; rather, a given number of seconds will pass before it resumes counting down.

Diagram explaining how to read chess time control abbreviations with delay

Examples:

G/45;d5 means Game in 45 minutes with a five-second delay. When your opponent presses the clock, you have five seconds before your clock starts counting down. This game could last as long as an hour and forty minutes.

G/90;+30 means Game in 90 minutes with a thirty-second increment. Each time you make a move and press the clock, you get thirty seconds added to your base time. This game could last around four hours.

You might also play in a tournament with a time control that looks like this:

In the example above, the player must make 40 moves in 90 minutes. After that, the second time control ("Sudden death") kicks in. When there's a delay or increment added, it applies to the whole game (both time controls)

Tiebreaks

When two players are tied for first place in a section with indivisible prizes (like trophies or titles), we use the following tiebreak methods, in this order:

Head-to-head result. If the tied players have already faced each other in a round that day and the result was decisive (=not a draw), that result is used. If not, we proceed to a...
Blitz tiebreak match. The tied players face each other in a two-game blitz match (we use game in 5 minutes with no delay). If there is a decisive result, this decides the order of finish. But if the tied players finish with an even score, then it goes to...
Armageddon. This is a special kind of blitz game that always produces a decisive result. The player with the white pieces gets five minutes; the player with the black pieces gets four but only needs a draw to win.

Second- and third-place ties

For second and third place, ties between three or more players are common. An over-the-board tiebreak round for just three players can easily take an hour, and we see lots of second- and third-place ties with more players than that. For this reason, City Chess OK uses the mathematical tiebreaks* recommended by US Chess to determine indivisible prizes for all ties other than first.

*Sometimes you'll hear these called "computer tiebreaks" because most pairings programs calculate them. But they're easy to calculate by hand.

The goal of mathematical tiebreaks is to order players according to the difficulty of the opponents they faced. To learn more about the mathematical tiebreak systems we use, see Chess Tournament Guide's "How Tiebreaks Work in Chess Tournaments"

Questions?
If you have any questions about the information about this page, or if you have a question we didn't answer here, just send us an email or call/text (405) 642-6136.